[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5188]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    COMMENDING WE THE PEOPLE COURSE

  (Mr. CRAWFORD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, 19 students from Valley View High School 
in my hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas, have been studying our Nation's 
constitutional democracy for several months in an intensive course. The 
course called We the People is taught to students particularly 
interested in the history and principles of the United States 
Government.
  Last week, those students put their knowledge to the ultimate test in 
Washington, D.C. They competed in a simulated congressional hearing by 
evaluating, taking, and defending positions on a variety of historical 
and contemporary issues. Our government functions more efficiently when 
passionate citizens engage in the political and policymaking process, 
and I am proud that these students are already preparing themselves for 
that process through their education.
  Traci Smith, the group's civics teacher, deserves our thanks and 
respect for the incredibly important role that she plays in preparing 
our rising generation. I would also like to applaud the efforts of the 
We the People Arkansas State coordinator, Jeff Whittingham, associate 
professor at the University of Central Arkansas who has done such a 
remarkable job through the years organizing and directing the We the 
People program for our State.

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